An East Kilbride quartet will aim to lead Stranraer to their first cup final since 1996 when they take on Livingston in the Challenge Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

Jamie Longworth, Craig Malcolm, Barry Russell and Sean Winter are all plotting to tame the Lions and seal a place in what would be their maiden senior final and Stranraer’s first since a 1-0 trophy triumph over St Johnstone in the same competition nearly two decades ago.

The Blues have already overcome the challenge of Championship sides Dumbarton and Falkirk – as well as League Two Albion Rovers – to get this far and the League One side see no reason why they can’t claim another scalp against Livingston at Almondvale.

And, according to the local foursome, a key ingredient to the Blues’ success has been the East Kilbride connection at the heart of their team.

Having come to know each other well in the past few years, where they were either team-mates or rivals in Junior football, the group all travel to training together by car and every Saturday travel from EK to Prestwick to meet up with the team bus that shuttles them to each match.

Hitman Longworth, from Newlandsmuir, and strike partner Craig Malcolm, from Gardenhall, have formed a good relationship at Stair Park with six goals between them this season, while Whitehills ace Winter – now in his fourth season with the club – helps the midfield tick.

Westwood man Russell, however, has had a frustrating start to life at Stranraer after being sent off during his debut against Morton in August and has struggled with injuries following his move from Albion Rovers.

But he has made a handful of substitute appearances in the last month on his comeback trail and he told the News: “I’ve not had the best of starts, but Malky, Sean and Jamie have kept my spirits up and helped me settle in here.

“It’s always good doing down to Prestwick in the car because we all get on so well and there’s great banter going back and forth.

“There’s a good mix – Jamie’s a bit quieter, Malky’s a good laugh and Sean’s always trying to wind us up. But it helps when you go on the pitch and you know these guys so well.”

After scoring 22 goals for the Blues last season, Jamie Longworth could well be the difference between a place in the final and a hard luck story.

And he’s dreaming of his first senior final.

“I won a few trophies in the Juniors with Kilbirnie Ladeside and scored a hat-trick when we won the West of Scotland Cup in 2008, but getting to the final with Stranraer would eclipse all of that,” Longworth admitted.

“Making the semi-finals is a huge achievement in its own right but we want to go all the way.

“We’ve beaten Falkirk and Dumbarton to get here and we ran Ross County really close in the League Cup (they lost 3-2), so we’ve shown we can match these kind of teams on our day.

“I had a bit of a slow start this season, but the goals are starting to come now. I’ve scored four in four games and it would be great to grab another on Sunday.”

The Petrofac Training Cup, to give the competition its proper title, has gained a higher profile this season with Rangers, Hearts and Hibs all involved when the cup kicked off in July.

The Edinburgh giants have since bowed out and although Rangers remain, they have still to play their quarter-final match against East Fife (on October 21) with Alloa awaiting the winners in the last four.

“The cup has taken on a greater significance this year with Rangers, Hearts and Hibs being in it and I think all the teams have taken it more seriously because of that, so it’s credit to the lads that we’ve managed to get this far,” said Craig Malcolm.

“Obviously, Livi will be the favourites on Sunday, but that suits us. Falkirk are a better team on paper than them and we managed to knock them out, so we are capable of winning this one as well.

“There’s a great spirit in the team – the best I’ve been in.

“The EK boys run the dressing room and the rest of the squad and the manager have a good laugh about that.

“But it’s great going on the pitch every week when you are playing with mates you’ve known for years.”

Sean Winter echoed those sentiments, saying: “The EK boys stick together and I think that spirit has got us through a lot of games this season, when we’ve had to grind games out.

“We’ve done so well to get this far and – no disrespect to the other teams in the competition – I think we are all dreaming of playing Rangers in the final.”

And you get a sense of the friendly banter that must go back and forth on matchdays as they all wind up Russell – the only one of the four without a driver’s licence – about his failure to pull his weight when it comes to travelling costs.

“Never once has Barry offered us petrol money,” said Winter. “He wants you to pick him up here, there and everywhere so it would be nice to get a tenner once in a while, but Barry’s got a bit of a brass neck that way.

And Malcolm added: “Barry gets chauffeured about, so hopefully he’ll get us a nice Christmas gift to make up for it.”

Not one to take criticism lying down Russell retorted: “Aye, but it’s in my contract that I get driven about.

“I repay them all in beer tokens anyway.

“But that Sean Winter’s a loose cannon, always doing stupid things, so I need to keep my eye on him.”